Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1887-07-02
THE TEACHERS INSTITUTE.

The APPARATUS should consist of
good blackboards The recommended
kind of slate which is durable, noise
less and dustless,) maps and globes,
charts, unabridged dictionary, and
cyclopedia. The room should be made
attractive by ornamenting with mot
| toes and pictures and in the spring,
summer, and fall when flowers can be
obtained, bring also; a portfolio filed
with pretty pictures obtained from
various sources is a good thing to at
tract and interest children, and help
to max, school pleasant place.
The teachers potcer for teaching is
more than double by having an attract
i've room and pleasant surroundings.
Again, some teachers of nervous tenn
permanent are SO embarrassed at the
presence of visitors as to be unified
for their work, but if they are perfect
masters of the subjects taught they
will soon be composed. The secret of
surrender then, is to be master of your
work. Upon taking charge of new
school no long speech is necessary,
begin with work; as soon as possible
give pupils something to do, this will
secure tranquility and enable you to
proceed with further organization.
Your program should consist of as few
classes as possible !; let the recitations
of the younger children be short and
pleasant; placethe more difficult exer-
cises in the early part ofthe day; and
to save time, as far as possible, teach
by topic.
DIR. Newell now resumed the floor
and after reviewing his last subject
took up that of Primary Geography.
The first lessons in this branch as well
as all other should be without text.
book, and to teach geography success
fully it is necessary to have knowl-
edge ofgeOmetry, astronomy, botany,
zoology, physics or minerology, histo-
ry, chemistry, ndgeolOgy. The best
time to teach the points of the COM
pass is at II O'Clock when the sun is
shining using pole, so the shadow of
it at the hour will be cast north, then
stand boy erect facing this point
with outstretched arms and you have
two other points, east and west, and
the south will be behind him. In
obtaining distances, begin with foot
rule measured off in inches and meas
ure short objects first, the use yard
stick, ten-foot pole, tape line, &C., &C.,
until children have correct ideas of
measurement.
There are two ways ofusing the map.
LIST. Begin with a map of the school
house and grounds, of small enclos.
ures, farms, large plantations, dis
tricts, counties, states, etc.
Cd. By map of countries first,
then come down to small territories.
The Doctor recommended that for
variety both methods be used, either
proceeding from the parts to the
whole, or from the whole to the parts.
His next and last point was moulding
in sand which he said was great help
in teaching primary geography. The
box used to contain the sand should
first be covered with tin foil in the
bottom, then this covered with glass
before the sand is put in, so when the
sand is removed on the sides to repre-
sent the coast, the tin foil will be seen
through the glass and gives a good
representation of the water.
After short recess Prof. Payne re-
viewed his previous subject and then
spoke of the best method of lighting
the rooms. When it can be so ar.
ranged, it is best to have the light
from above. Ifthe light must enter
from the sides, it is best to come from
the left side, never have it in front or
behind you. He said in speaking of
the length of recitations, that from
10 to Is minutes was sufficiently long
for young children to be in class
and from 30 to As minutes for advanc-
ed classes, say grammar recitation.
The best time to prepare difficult les
sons is hour after the first meal.
DR.. Newell now occupied Il few
minutes upon primary arithmetic.
He defined this branch to be the art
of counting, add logic, said he, we
have science. Make your work real /;
do not give large numbers that cannot
be comprehended by children to be-
gin with. He then explained the
difference between real and unreal, by
placing two large numbers upon the
board to be added, and then near
them two small numbers.
Prof. Payne now occupied the floor
till noon upon School Management.
He said that manual exercises such as
drawing, etc., should be postponed
until late in the day, those studies
which required thought should occupy
the morning session. Always do your
work under the most favorable circum-
stances. Arrange all the manipula-
tions of the schOOl-roOm by signs.
These manipulations become auto
matte. Do not have too much ma
chinery, but just enough; too much
machinery produces dearth of spirit
and yet it is necessary to have enough
to preserve good order. How to pre-
vent hardness. Lock the door after 9
O'Clock. Difficulties, Illustrated diff
ferent methods by hypothetical cases.
Afternoon at 2 p. M, roll was called
and DR.. Newell rose to the floor and
gave the following from Americas
great poet. Henry w. Longfellow, to
be committed the next mornings
recitation
All are architects of Fate
Working in the walls of time;
Some with massive deeds, and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme. -
He then continued the subject of
Primary Arithmetic, showing in a
practical way how to teach children
to count, using objects to represent
concrete numbers before counting abb
stractly. He then showed how Addi-
tion and Subtraction might be taught
together; also, Multiplication and
Division as far as the number 90 but
rather preferred that the last two be
taught separately. He then gave some
explanation upon the use of the spool
chart and suggested that in all teach
ing primary arithmetic we should use
real objects as far as possible. Short
Division should be taught before Long
Division, but the latter should be
taught with thesmall numbers as first
but the pupils should not be allowed
to continue this after they have be.
come familiar with both the rules.
&l,r& IL L